What Our Teeth Can Tell Us

Ancestral vs Modern diets

Dr. Weston A Price

In 1893, Weston Price became a dentist in Cleveland, Ohio. As the years passed, Price became aware of a highly unusual trend — the amount of tooth decay that he observed was growing sharply. Something strange was happening. He was watching a serious health crisis emerge right before his eyes, and he didn’t understand the cause. Price was curious and suspected that the problem was related to dietary changes.

Weston then decided to do some travelling, in search of healthy people, to see how they lived differently. He spent much of the 1930s visiting many lands, examining the teeth of the residents, taking photographs of them, and studying their diets. He went to remote places where people continued to live in their traditional manner, in regions including Switzerland, Ireland, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the Arctic, and Peru. He found many people with beautiful perfect teeth, and he found many with serious dental problems, like his patients in Cleveland. Importantly, he discovered a clear difference in the diets of the two groups.

The teeth tell a story

Dr. Price was astounded at the robust health of the so-called “primitive” societies he encountered. These peoples ate the traditional diet of their region, never used a toothbrush, and never saw a dentist. Their mouths were free of the cavities, dental deformities and chronic disease that he observed back home. He was also alarmed by the rampant degeneration of the surrounding communities that had begun to adopt what he called “the displacing foods of modern commerce,” such as condensed milk, vegetable oils, and refined sugar, grains and flour.

While each of these isolated groups of natives had very different diets, Dr. Price brought samples of their cuisine back to his laboratory for analysis, and a pattern of vital nutrients began to emerge—primarily Vitamins A, D and K2—all in quantities 10 times more than the average American diet of that era. These days there is an even greater disparity, as our soils are depleted of minerals, industrial methods prevail, and we have been taught to avoid the very foods that contain these fat-soluble vitamins. Mineral content was also off the charts in comparison, and every culture had instinctively harnessed the power of microbes to ferment and preserve their harvests in unique ways. Meanwhile, germ theory was sweeping through modernized societies, and probiotic-rich foods were becoming more scarce as we waged war against bacteria. Convenience became our focus in modernized society, and we gradually abandoned our traditional ways of living and eating.

The consequences of a modernized diet

There are many serious consequences of generation after generation having diets deficient in an element essential for normal development of the nervous system.

The children of those who ate modernized diets had even worse problems. In addition to tooth decay, their dental arches were deformed, so their teeth were crowded and crooked (like mine). Their nostrils were narrower, forcing some to be mouth breathers. Their skulls formed in unusual shapes and sizes, often narrower than normal. Their hips and pelvic bones formed abnormally, making childbirth more difficult. They suffered from far higher rates of chronic and degenerative disease, including cancer, heart disease, and tuberculosis. Their overall health was often weak or sickly. Some were mentally deficient.

Price finally went home and wrote a book to document his findings. Nutrition and Physical Degeneration was published in 1939. His studies establish the parameters of an optimal diet, and demonstrate how vibrant health can be achieved generation after generation. Dr. Weston A. Price quietly reminds us, “Life in all its fullness is Mother Nature obeyed.”The book is loaded with stunning photos and is not a light read. In fact it is required reading in Harvard anthropology courses.

From the book: “Nutrition and Physical Degeneration” by Weston A. Price

Here are a few observations of the effects that inadequate nutrition is having on social and economic conditions today.

A widespread alienation and pervasive depression in young people.

An increase in suicides and killings among young children, almost unheard of a generation ago.

A serious decline in the level of scholastic achievement among school children. (1 out of 6 children in the industrial world has a developmental delay).

A continued deterioration of the quality of goods produced by American industries. (A nation of people that lives on hamburgers, french fries, milk shakes, cola drinks, TV dinners, and other toxic foods.

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